We are approaching everyday life

After already having a successful Sunday without big plans and outings, but with a completely satisfied child, we also didn't have anything planned for Monday (except for beach fun and packing preparations)!

While Ida played outside the tent, alternating between horse and police (in the end it was the same because one of us had to run away from her for both), we started packing and sorting!

For lunch and high tide, we wanted to go to the beach to demonstrate our architectural skills one last time.

After the almost exact replicas of Neuschwanstein Castle, the English Gardens in Munich, and Angkor Wat, we had the vision of Egeskov Castle as the crowning finale; Europe's most beautiful water castle in Denmark.

Unfortunately, there are no photographic evidence for this because building a sand castle too close to the water turned out to be not such a masterful idea.

In the end, the trio became a lonely struggling builder who fought against the water masses in vain.

In the meantime, the ladies of the group had made themselves comfortable in the sand and limited themselves to helpful commenting.

After the unsatisfactory completion of the construction project, Ida had enough of lying around. She dashed around, danced, hopped, and squealed with joy until all the clothes were soaking wet.

The day was rewarded with delicious fish n' chips. But this time, finally in a camping-like manner, we ate on the ground since we had already packed away the table and chairs in our packing frenzy!

Last stop: Glasgow

To make the journey to Glasgow a bit more entertaining on Tuesday and to shorten the time until check-in, we made a detour to Falkland. A really beautiful piece of Scottish history in the Lomond Hills on the River Eden. The tiny town is known for its well-preserved castle of the Stewart family, as well as for being a location of the TV series Outlander (the fans among us will already know where we are).

Even independent of TV tourism, the little detour was worth it. The houses are very pretty, lovingly and lavishly decorated, and the residents are incredibly warm and always up for a little chat with strangers. We were thrilled and felt like we were in a TV romance - a perfect, blissful world.

Arriving in Glasgow, we were catapulted back into reality: no trace of idyll, rather a ghetto atmosphere with grubby figures without a hint of warmth.

Founded around the monastery of the monk St. Mungo (where J.K. Rowling supposedly found inspiration), the current university city was named the friendliest city in Scotland despite high crime rates in 2014.

After a stroll through the quite charming city center and the alternative neighborhood Hillhead around the second oldest university in the country, we could understand that. The old buildings are carefully maintained (some are simply repurposed: it is not uncommon for churches to be turned into casinos or clubs), and numerous green spaces liven up the cityscape.

With only two days and a toddler in tow, we limited ourselves to superficial shopping and leisurely strolling here as well, especially since the summer heat had followed us to the island. 30 degrees in the concrete jungle is not fun at all, and we are increasingly looking forward to the journey back home.

Overall, saying goodbye is not as difficult as expected. We have come to love this country with its rugged landscapes and have visited various places in the three weeks. However, it was also freezing cold, exhausting, and quite uncomfortable at times (not to mention the irritating roundabouts).

Would we do it again? Definitely! In a few years, with an older child and therefore fewer restrictions regarding hikes and bedtimes. The possibilities are diverse but not always child-friendly.

It probably also makes sense to limit oneself to a smaller region, which saves travel time and nerves and also keeps expenses relatively low. Despite camping and self-catering, a vacation on the island is not for a small budget. But we have no regrets about any decision we have planned or made spontaneously, and we consider our road trip through Scotland (after Thailand and before Canada) one of the top 3 vacations we have had together.